


By Fate's Design

by herecomestroublr



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Atlantis, Beheading Mention, Blood, Death, Descriptions of Blood, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gore, Humor, Magic, Mermaid Cannibals, Merstuck, Roxy is the Siren Princess, Sirens, descriptions of death, descriptions of fighting, major character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 10:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17743886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herecomestroublr/pseuds/herecomestroublr
Summary: After leaving the cave he knew his whole life as mer custom dictates at 18, Michael did not expect anything to happen. He did not expect to be kidnapped by pirates in this day in age. He did not expect to be accepted onto the said pirate crew. He absolutely did not expect the captain's daughter to fall in love with him, and he definitely didn't expect the curse that bound her to the ship.--------This is literally only for an RP I am a part of. This doesn't have to make sense to anyone, other than the intended person. If you do read it and enjoy it though, please comment! I can always elaborate for you.





	By Fate's Design

**Author's Note:**

> I'LL REPEAT: This is literally only for an RP I am a part of. This doesn't have to make sense to anyone, other than the intended person. If you do read it and enjoy it though, please comment! I can always elaborate for you.
> 
> Also if you see any mistakes, please tell me! This was 23 pages long and almost 9000 words. It was a bitch to edit, and I'm sure I missed a ton of things. 
> 
> I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS, ABBY!
> 
> 4/15 Edit: Apparently the spell I wrote was not towards the end of the story, so it has been added in. I'm really proud of it, too!

Michael was _really_ starting to regret his choices right about now. Exploring the cave system with his friends during the day was cool, but exploring it at night, alone, and with nothing but his strength magic and a flickering light spell to guide him was a horrible idea. _Especially_ when he ran into _actual_ fucking pirates in this day and age. 

They weren't unheard of, but it was still rare. 

Their ship was, of course, a wreak from ages ago and powered by magic, but still formidable in its broken state. Which made sense considering Michael was stripped of his supplies and thrown into the cargo hold. He would have busted out already, but a magic barrier had been raised and he was basically powerless as he sat in the dark. So here he was, waiting for something to happen and listening to the arguing of accented voices above him. It was actually quite loud, and he had been trying to ignore them and give the people some privacy, but it was hard to ignore at this point. 

“You _can’t_ just keep kidnapping everyone who comes into our hideouts, _Dad!_ We aren’t barbarians! We aren’t _sirens!_ ” 

“He wandered into our territory _armed_ , Evelyn! He could be a scout from those damned French _bastards!_ ” 

“He’s a _teenager!_ He was _literally_ carrying a fillet knife! For _FISH! F I S H!!_ ” There was the unmistakable sound of a knife being embedded in wood and Michael flinched, looking up around the area. The tip of his mentioned knife was sticking through a plank. How much force did she put behind that throw?

“ _IT WAS STILL A FUCKING KNIFE! HE COULD HAVE KILLED US!_ ” 

“ _HE’S BARELY OLDER THAN I AM!!!!!_ ” 

“ _WHICH IS WHY IM WORRIED!!_ ” There was a pause, and Michael swam closer to the ceiling to try and listen. 

“Dad…?”

“ _Look,_ Evie. I went to a Sea Witch as soon at you turned 18. She said that a lone boy would come one day and that he would steal your heart.”

“....I…..what?”

“She said you would leave with him after an _‘Event of Great Terror and Triumph_ ’ and didn’t clarify.” 

“Dad, how could he be the one! I haven’t even seen his face! And many others have come before him, maybe it's one of them!” Good point. Michael had no idea what this girl even looked like. “Besides, I’m basically hundreds of years old at this point--we all age at the rate of sirens. He wouldn’t like me anyway.” 

Michael decided it was best to stop listening at this point and instead swam back down towards the ground, leaning against a wall. This was not his business, and he didn’t need to listen in. Eventually, he tuned them out enough and found himself falling asleep. 

Hours later, he was awoken by knocking on the door of his current prison and noticed the ship was moving. “Uh… come in?” he said, straightening himself up and uncurling his tail. 

The door was unlocked, and in swam a burly looking merman with the tail of a lionfish. He was holding a tray of food encased in a magic bubble. Human food was best kept in the air, after all. 

“Hello there, lad. Sorry fer the rough treatment. Cap doesn’t take too well to… _’visitors’_ young as his daughter.” The man joked. 

“Heh. It’s uh… alright? Although I don’t know why he would.” Michael shrugged. 

“Well, lad, you’ll get to learn soon enough. Fer some reason, Cap’s decided ta take ya on as a crew member. I’ll show ya where you’ll be sleepin’ after ya eat yer food. The name’s Arthur, but most call me Art or Artie.” The man known as Arthur said, handing over the tray to Michael. 

He smiled gratefully. “I’m Michael. Thanks for the food!” 

“Yer welcome, Michael. But just so ya know, you’ll be helpin’ me make it soon enough.” Michael’s smile dropped. 

He’d never been good at cooking. 

\--------

About a week went by before Michael officially met Evelyn and Captain Johnathan. They were basically identical; curly black hair, pale skin, emerald green eyes, the tail of a clownfish, and a strangely powerful aura that unnerved him. Nonetheless, he got used to it--even becoming Evelyn’s friend aboard the ship within a few months, and gaining a crush on her as well.

Speaking of, he had just been excused by Art for the evening, when he was suddenly pulled to the mast of the ship, and forced up to the crows nest by a stream of light magic. As he got to the top, he saw Evelyn peeking her head over the side, smiling wide as her black hair swirled in the water current as the ship sailed through the sea. 

“Michael! We’re nearing the Great Barrier Reef! I’m super excited! Dad said there was a rumor of a larger shipwreck around here and he wants to see if we can salvage it!” She helped him over the railing and grabbed his hands in excitement before swimming around him quickly and heading to look out over the water. 

“Really? Maybe I can get my own room then! Do you have any idea how much everyone snores?” He joked, his bright blue eyes sparkling mischievously. 

“I can hear it through the holes in the floor!” She said, playing along, glancing back at him. “Now come here! Take a look over there!” She took his hand again and dragged him to where she was, pointing out over the water to a blob in the far distance. “There! Do you see that? That’s the reef! We all have to turn human and sail over it though because we would crash otherwise.”

Michael gave her a confused look. “Human? Doesn’t that take a _ton_ of magic energy?” 

Evelyn’s eyes widened. “That’s right! This will be your first time! Don’t worry, it'll be fine. Now come on! It’s almost dusk so we’re about to break the surface.” With that, she catapulted herself over the side of the nest and used her magic to float quickly to the deck where everyone was gathering. 

“Wait! _Evie!_ ” He called out, reaching out his hand in a futile attempt. Sighing, Michael climbed over the next himself and used the ropes to make his way down, making sure his tail didn’t get caught and tangled. As soon as he made it to the deck, a hand slapped his back roughly and he turned to look up at Artie, who laughed good-heartedly. 

“Ya excited, lad? You’ll be gettin’ legs fer tha first time!” His brown eyes sparkled in excitement. “Personally, I can’t wait ta walk ‘round again.” 

Michael looked confused as the rest of the crew mingled on deck, some looking above towards the nearing surface and light. “ _Again?_ What do you mean _again?_ ”

“That’s _right!_ Ya don’t know!” 

“Know _what?_ ”

“We all used to be human!” Artie said in a matter-of-fact voice. 

Michael’s shoulders slumped and he looked annoyed. “ _Everyone_ knows the legend of Atlantis, Artie. We all used to be human, metaphorically speaking.” 

Artie rolled his eyes at the 19-year-old. “Not _that,_ lad! Around the 1400’s we were makin’ a trip from Great Britain to Spain fer a trade agreement--if we rid their shores ‘a sirens and merfolk, they’d finance a new fleet ‘a ships. But we ran inta trouble, ya see. A sea witch had found us, and _pissed_ that we were killin’ her kind, cursed us all and sunk our ship. Turned us all inta mers ourselves, and gave the Cap ‘n his daughter some kinda advanced magic. If one ‘a them dies, the other gets all their magic and suffers for it. Horrible fate, really.” He crossed his arms and shook his head. “It’s why he’s so worried. He knows if he dies, Evelyn will suffer until the curse takes her too. An’ if _both_ ‘a them die, we all go with ‘em.” 

Michael's eyes widened. He had… no idea. She had been human? He turned to watch as the Captain explained what they would do and what was going to happen. The crew cheered, but he didn’t hear a thing. He only watched as Evelyn and the Captain began to glow, their hands reaching out towards the crew. 

And she was _cursed?_ They _all_ were? They were all fated to just… wither away and _die?_ No matter what they did or said? But she _had_ said they aged at the rate of sirens--that meant they had ages! So why did they look so tired? And why did--

Michael’s train of thought was cut off as the ship surfaced, magically mending itself. In an instant, the whole crew landed on their feet and cheered, and Michael fell to his ass. There was laughing around him, and then he was being pulled to his feet by Artie. 

“Ya alright there, lad?” He chuckled, steadying the merman on his new feet and clothing. Most of the mers had been shirtless or only wearing a vest underwater, but he noticed everyone was now fully clothed. 

“I’ve never had legs before.” He admitted with a laugh, holding onto Artie’s arms and watching his legs shake, the brown fabric of his pants rustling. 

“Michael!” He heard Evelyn call.

Turning his head, he barely had time to react before he was tackled into a hug and found himself supporting the weight on them both on his less-shaky legs. “E-Evie,” He started, vaguely registering that everyone had begun to do other things and embrace each other instead of watching the two teens. “Why didn’t you tell me about the curse?”

Her smile dropped. “I was scared that you… wouldn’t like me anymore.” She looked away and pulled out of the hug, but still steadying Michael as he was not used to walking. 

He copied her footsteps as she lead him slowly to the bridge of the ship, and up the stairs. “I could _never_ hate you! And didn’t you say you all aged like sirens? You’ll have _thousands_ of years before you die!” 

Evelyn was silent, making sure Michael had a secure grip on the rails as they watched the sun set behind them and the water ripple with the ship’s movement. “...My dad…” She began after a considerable silence, “went to see a sea witch as soon as I turned 18. Every 100 years a siren ages in terms to 1 human year, so it was easy to calculate, as I was 13 when we set sail.” They both watched as she used her magic to create shapes in the air, the green trail of glittering light fading as the ship moved. It was then that he realized everyone was completely dry--an interesting fact that he deemed unimportant at the moment. 

“What happened?” He knew what happened, as he remembered hearing it when he was first captured. 

“...she said…” she paused, looking away with an almost indiscernible blush on her pale cheeks. It was difficult to see with the fading light, but it was there. “She said that one day a lone boy would come and steal my heart, and after an _‘Event of Great Terror and Triumph’_ I would leave with him.” She glanced at Michael from behind her long hair. 

It took him a second, but finally, he blushed and straightened up so fast that he stumbled back and ran into the rail surrounding the wheel. “ _M-me?!_ ” He asked, pointing at himself with wide eyes, utterly surprised yet absolutely happy. 

She nodded. “Y-You don’t _have_ to accept my feelings, of course, there’ve been tons of boys before, and there will always be tons of boys, so you don’t have to be if you don’t--” 

In a rush of excitement, Michael had rushed forward and pulling Evelyn’s face close to his, he kissed her hard, holding her cheeks in his hands and smiling despite his mouth being preoccupied. “Of _course_ I accept your feelings. How could I _not_ if I return them tenfold?” He finally told her after pulling away. 

Stars in her eyes, Evelyn smiled. “That’s very good to hear.” And with that, she pulled him into another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

Too distracted by each other to notice, a wind encased the pair, swirling around them and sparkling with green and blue magic, before spirling away into the night air. 

Their fate was sealed. 

\--------

A few days later, after finishing lunch and helping Artie with the kitchen clean-up, Michael found himself assisting everyone around the ship with their duties. Tying ropes with David and Ethan; repairing planks permanently with Edgar; using his strength magic to help hoist the broken 2nd mast and fix it back into place with Emil and Lucas; taking inventory of the food storage with Zachary, Hugo, and Chester; cleaning up the sleeping quarters with William and Robert; he had a busy day, to say the least. 

The best part though was training with Abraham, the first mate and second in command. Having been given the evening off by Artie per request, Michael headed above deck to the designated training area, to find Abraham sharpening swords. With blonde hair and hazel eyes and a slim build, he wasn’t too bad a man to look at. 

“Ah! Michael! You ready for today?” Abraham stood up, placing the sword he was working on back into its sheath. 

Michael cracked his knuckles and smirked. “Ready as ever. What’s on the agenda?” 

“Since you’ve already mastered hand-to-hand combat and the use of a sword, let’s work on using your powers with it.” 

Michael’s smirk dropped immediately. “I’ve… never used my powers offensively before.” 

Abraham placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder comfortingly. “Look, kid. I know it may seem difficult, but as we’ve seen you basically suck at everything but strength magic.” he joked and Michael chuckled. “All jokes aside, I know you can do it. All you have to do is channel your power where you want it to go, and use the force of it to aid in your attacks. Okay?”

He nodded. “Okay. I… I _think_ I can do that.” 

“Good! Alright, now, try to see if you can knock me off my feet.” Abraham got into stance and blocked with his forearms together. 

In response, Michael took a deep breath, taking his own stance as well. After a moment of concentration, he threw a punch, and immediately blew a hole into the deck of the ship as he lost his footing after the boat rocked harshly. 

Chaos erupted. 

“We’ve been shot at!” 

“We’re takin’ on water!” 

“Why isn’t the ship healing yet?!”

Michael pulled his fist out of the deck, taking chunks of wood with him. The ship was hit with another boom, and he fell onto his ass as the boat rocked harshly again. 

Abraham grabbed Michael’s hand roughly and pulled him to his feet. “ _Up you go!_ Here!” A sword was tossed his way, and Michael suddenly felt scared. “Remember what I taught you!” And then he was off, swords floating behind him as crew members ran around.

“ _Wait!_ What’s--” His sentence was cut off as a loud, angry yell came over the ship, bellowing over the water and the fading light. 

“ _ANTONIO! I THOUGHT I’D SUNK YOUR SHIP FOR GOOD, BASTARD!_ ” The Captain announced over the side of the ship, leg propped up onto the rail and glowering at a tanned, smirking man on a ship similar to theirs approaching swiftly. Standing to his side was Evelyn, looking menacingly at the other man.

“ _JOHNATHAN! HOW COULD YOU SINK US FOR GOOD IF WE’RE IN THE SAME METAPHORICAL BOAT?_ ” The man called back, the ship stopping about ten feet from their own. 

“I used all of my magic to do so.”

“And _yet,_ here I stand! And soon you and your daughter _won’t_ be.” Antonio’s upbeat voice suddenly dropped, and he made a hand motion. Suddenly, the crew from the other ship were boarding, and Michael barely had time to meet swords with a larger man who charged at him, snarling. 

_Dammit!_ He had wanted to go find Evelyn! Grunting, he used his magic to push the man away, before using the magic again to basically throw the man off of the ship and into the distant water. 

Finally free, Michael dodged the magical explosions and sword fighting as he tried to make his way to the bridge, where the sound of clashing metal was heard. He didn’t get the chance to, because soon he was face to face with another man. His sword was quickly launched from his hand, and Michael yelled in agony as his arm was sliced open. 

“Why, you’re just a boy! What are you doing on a ship like this?” The accented voice asked him, holding his sword to Michael’s throat. 

He gulped in fear. 

Meanwhile, Evelyn and her father clashed swords again with Antonio, who was easily deflecting them with his own two. 

“ _Wow,_ you two have gotten _weak_. Do you sit around all day _lamenting_ your existence as _always?_ ” 

“Oh, what would _you_ know?!” Evelyn sassed back, using the momentum of being pushed back to twirl around and embed her sword with a crippling spell and thrusting it into the side of the opposing pirate. 

Antonio hissed in pain, dropping to his knees and barely reacting fast enough to block a sword blow and a blast of magically controlled sea-water. “I remember all those years spent teaching you, _Evelyn,_ ” He hissed, tossing her away with a gust of wind. 

“Evie!” Johnathan called when his daughter went flying, before spinning around and using heat magic to power up his own sword. In one swing, the sword in Antonio’s left hand was sliced in half, and his arm scorched. “How _DARE YOU_ lay a hand on her!” 

Antonio screeched at the pain but smiled wickedly though his tears. “ _Remember when I used to call you brother!?_ ” His eyes glinted with orange magic, and Evie gasped, trying to get to her feet.

“ _STOP!_ ” 

“ _REMEMBER WHEN I USED TO CALL YOU FAMILY?_!” Johnathan yelled, going in for another strike, sword glowing with magical power and green eyes blazing with energy. 

“ _DAD, NO!_ ” She screamed, trying to get up and make a shield. She tried to throw it, but it was too late. 

Evelyn watched in slow-motion as her father was pierced in the stomach with his own sword, his hands surrounded in orange energy. Her heart beat fast, and she screamed when a searing pain over-took her, falling to her knees. 

Her screech of pain was enough to distract the man who held his sword to Michael’s throat, and he took the advantage to roundhouse kick the man into the mast, knocking him unconscious. Using his opportunity, Michael looked around the ship briefly, trying to orient himself

The crew was loosing, he could see--being pushed back and cut down. He almost vomited when he saw the heads of Ethan and Emil go flying off the side of the ship. Artie and Abraham were back to back, Abraham down to only five floating swords, and Artie bleeding from one eye as he gripped his hammers tightly. Lucas was knocked cold, and Edgar cried out as someone stabbed him through the hand. David and Zachary were each missing a limb, and Chester and Hugo looked ready to drop dead from all the blood they were covered in. William seemed to have turned into a berserker, and Robert was hanging from the rail, blood rushing down his face and angelfish tail flopping as the waves hit the side of the ship.

Michael was _terrified_. He wasn’t ready for _any_ of this. _All_ he had wanted was to explore a cave system, not watch the _slaughter_ of his friends by the hand of a vengeful crew. Taking one last glance up at the bridge, he picked up his sword and went charging to Edgar’s aid. 

Through her tears, Evelyn stood up, feeling an immense anger and power surge through her veins. She looked at her hands, watching as her skin glowed green and faded away from her in magical wisps. 

“ _Y-You…_ ” She spat out, looking up into the fading smile of Antonio, “are _no longer_ my Uncle.” Her eyes glowed brightly with power, and Antonio took a step back. 

“N-now Evie…” He tried, orange magic coming to his hands in a feeble attempt to protect himself. 

“You have, _NO RIGHT_ to call me that!” She yelled, before dropping to her knees and slamming her glowing hand on the ground. “ _AMPLIFY!_ ” With that word, a surge of powerful magic traveled from her to every living member of the crew, healing their injuries and giving them strength. 

Michael smiled when he saw his arm heal as he struggled to hold his sword against a larger man, and sighed in relief when said man was promptly impaled by a sword and flung off the side of the ship, his body turning back into a merman before it hit the water. Edgar patted his back gratefully as the fight surged on with a new energy. 

“Go help her.” He told Michael, who nodded and took off, dodging the fighting around him as he forced his way up to the bridge. 

When he got there, he noticed Evie struggling to fight the Captain of the other ship, tears in her eyes, and her father laying on the deck, sword sticking out of his torso and blood pooling on the deck of the ship. Luckily his legs were still there, so he wasn’t dead yet. Good. 

“ _Think of what you’re doing!_ What you’re _supporting!_ ” Antonio yelled through the struggle, wincing when boiling water was swiped across his face.

“I’ve already thought of it! I _refuse_ to slaughter humans to reduce my sentence! I _refuse_ to be like _YOU!_ ” She yelled, letting out a blast of magical energy that knocked Antonio to his knees. 

Michael took this chance to run across the deck, sliding onto his knees and using his powers to hold Antonio’s hands behind his back. Antonio cried out in pain as his hands were crushed.

“Y-You don’t know what you’re _doing!_ ” He tried to reason, tears in his green eyes as he looking helplessly up into the eyes of his niece. 

“Oh? _Really?_ Then how come I’ve already broken the curse upon myself? The one that _binds_ me to this ship?” Evelyn spat, glaring down at the man she used to call family. 

“Y-You _did? How?!_ ”

“He’s breaking your arms right now.” 

“W-Wha--- _AGH!!!!_ ” Antonio tried to turn to look at Michael but cried out when said boy squeezed harder, shattering some of his bones. He looked down at the ground and sucked in air roughly. “Fine. _Kill me._ Become the person you think I am.” He muttered, not looking up, his hat falling to his knees and revealing black, curly hair.

“Oh, Antonio, I could _never_ be like you. I would never _abandon_ my family.” She cooed mockingly, forming a blade out of pure light. It hurt Michael’s eyes if he looked at it for too long.

“I _did not_ abandon my family. My _family_ abandoned _me_!” He tried, wincing when Evelyn used the blade to lift his face to look at him, scorching yet another part of his face. Michael only watched on in confusion and fear as the girl he fell for showed no mercy to her own uncle.

“We _NEVER_ abandoned you! You _tried_ to kill us!”

“To relieve you all from your misery!” 

“To have our power pass onto you, you mean? So you can _rule_ the sea and become like Her Imperial Condescension?! _Enslaving_ all who cross you? _Consuming human souls_ to give longevity to your _already cursed_ existence?!”

“ _I could have brought you back!_ I could have cured us all!” 

Evelyn’s face took on a dark appearance, and she snarled. “ _No one_ can resurrect the dead. So face your own and _rot in hell!_ ” With a slash, a scream, and a splatter, he was dead. 

Michael quickly let go of the corpse of Antonio and scampered away, watching as the body turned back into that of a mer with the green tail of a clownfish. Heart beating fast, he backed up and hit the rail of the ship, the cry of victory going unheard as he stared down the body a few feet away from him. 

As he turned to ask Evelyn what happened, he noticed she had already rushed to her father's side frantically. Tears in her eyes and blood on her face and clothes, she knelt down beside him, hands glowing green as she placed them on either side of Johnathan’s torso, before pulling the sword from him and tossing it over the side of the ship. 

“Please, _please, PLEASE_ be okay!” She mumbled, hands going green again. 

Michael hesitantly walked up to her as Abraham and Artie rushed up the stairs, taking in the carnage. “Evie…?” He asked, quietly reaching out a hand. 

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face and diluting the blood of her uncle, before placing both hands on her father’s chest and in a shaking voice beginning to sing, “ _Blood of my heart, Protection is thine. Life of my life, taking yours, taking mine. Body of my body, Marrow and mind, Soul of my soul, to our spirit bind. Blood of my heart, my tides, my moon. Blood of my heart. My salvation, my doom._ ” 

They watched. And waited. The sun almost below the horizon, casting shadows across the whole ship and the surviving crew who were looking up at the bridge, completely silent. All was still. 

In a sudden flash of light, the corpses aboard the ship shimmered and turned to sea foam, and Johnathan gasped, sitting up and breathing heavily. He clutched his chest and was almost immediately knocked to the deck again by his daughter launching herself into his arms, sobbing loudly. 

“ _Daddy!_ ” She sobbed into his arms. Abraham sighed in relief, and the crew let out a celebratory cheer. Artie and Michael just looked awkward. “I thought I’d lost you!” 

He hugged her back tightly, tears in his eyes yet not falling. “You used the spell.” He mumbled. 

“ _I’m so sorry!_ ” She apologized, pulling away to look at him with sorrow filled eyes. 

He looked sternly at her. “You could have _died_ using that spell! Do you know how _dangerous_ it could have been without all of the fallen men around?” he lectured, helping himself and Evelyn to their feet. 

“Yes, I know, but I-- _I wasn’t thinking that!_ I couldn’t--I _can’t_ lose you, dad! You’re all I have left.” Her voice got quieter as she spoke.

Captain Johnathan glanced at Michael’s nervous figure. “Actually, you have someone else now, too.” 

Evelyn followed his line of sight, and her cheeks flushed pink when she saw who he was referring to. Michael smiled nervously, and she smiled softly at him. 

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

\--------

“Are you _sure_ , dad? We can stay if--” 

“No, no, Evie. I see now what the witch had been talking about. You need to go and live your life. Be it on the surface, or under the sea.” He quirked a smile, and Evelyn smiled sadly back at him, giggling. 

“Just make sure you don’t die on me, okay, dad?” She gave him one last hug, squeezing tightly as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 

“And you don’t die on me, my sweet daughter.” He gave her one last squeeze, before releasing her and smiling as Michael took her hand gently in his. “I’ll see you in one year? At the ruins?” 

“At the ruins, dad.” He nodded at her and smiled at Michael. 

“Be safe, you two!”

“We will!” Michael called before Evelyn was pulling him down the stairs, and running towards the railing he had destroyed during the fight a week prior. 

They paused, and Evelyn adjusted the sword on her hip, and the hammer at her back. Michael made sure his own sword, gifted by Abraham, was secured as well.

“Are you ready, Michael?” She asked, smiling, hand holding his beginning to glow, and traveling over the both of them.

He grinned at her. “Always, Evelyn.” And with that, they jumped over the side of the ship, flashing green and turning back into mers just before they hit the water.

Captain Johnathan watched on with a sad smile. 

 

“They’ll be a’right, Cap’n!” Artie exclaimed, smacking the Captain’s back as repairs continued. 

“I _did_ train him myself, he can _surely_ assist her in a fight now,” Abraham assured as well, adjusting his coat as he approached the pair of men. 

Johnathan coughed, flushing and ignoring the fact he got embarrassed over showing love for his daughter. “How long until we can set sail for the reef, again?”

“A few more days, _sir_. Repairs to the hull are... _difficult_ without the help of powerful daughter.” 

Abraham laughed when Johnathan tried to smack him with his sheathed sword and scampered down the stairs. 

“I found preserved beef on Tonio’s ship, Cap’n,” Artie interjected after a few minutes of silence.

“Good. Good. Make something hearty then, could you?”

The cook grinned. “With pleasure!”

\--------

They traveled all across the seas, visiting every mer city, and occasionally walking among the humans and exploring the surface world of the twentieth century. Unknown to them, the beginnings of an organization that helped monsters and magical creatures alike protected them and aided them in their exploration. 

And so they continued. A year after they left they ventured back to the ancient ruins of Atlantis and met with her father and the crew, telling of their tales and adventures, slowly falling more and more in love. It was there, under the full moon on the last night in the ruins, did Michael admit he was in love with Evelyn.

A few months later, they made love for the first time as humans, on the sandy shore of an island void of human life. And it was there, under the stars, that Evelyn expressed her intent to marry him. Soon, in the underwater city of Eden in the Persian Gulf, Evelyn and Michael were married. 

It was a lovely wedding--the entire crew showing up. Artie cried more than Johnathan did, which was saying something because Johnathan cried a lot. 

A year after the wedding, resting in a bed of kelp somewhere off a coast in the Pacific ocean, a tired Evelyn held the small figure of her sleeping daughter. 

“She has your tail, Michael.” She whispered, bushing the soft hair from her daughter’s face gently. 

“And your everything else.” He replied, looking lovingly at the both of them. 

“Dad did always say our family line was a dominant force.” She joked, and he chuckled, leaning in to kiss his wife gently, before settling beside her. “What should we name her, Michael?”

“ _Jade_. Like the color of your eyes--the color of your magic,” he said, a lovesick look on his face as he gazed at her. 

She punched gently and giggled. “Be _serious_ , love! She’ll be stuck with this name her whole life!”

“I _am_ serious! You have beautiful eyes, she’ll love her name.” He insisted.

Evelyn sighed dramatically but smiled anyway. “Alright. Jade Harley-Egbert it is.”

“It’s perfect.”

\--------

“Mommy! Are you gonna tell me a story?” Jade called out as Evelyn swam into the little cave they considered the room of their 4-year-old daughter. 

She smiled. “Of course, my sweet daughter. What would you like to hear?”

“Tell me about how you met daddy again!” She demanded, squirming in her bed of kelp to get a better look at her mother. 

Evelyn chuckled and rested at the edge of the kelp, her eyes beginning to glow. “Alright, my little one.” Letting out a little hum for nothing but showmanship, she created little figures of people out of light and set the stage. 

“Years ago, _far_ away in a cave system near the equator in the Atlantic ocean, a young merman went exploring,” A cave system made of lights seemed to move as a nervous looking merman swam through, colored blue in contrast to the dark brown and orange hues of the cave. “Eventually he came upon a pirate ship! And seeing that he was armed with a knife, the captain ordered him _thrown_ into jail!” The little figure of blue was tossed into a room on the pirate ship, and the door slammed behind him.

“Daddy! No!” Jade gasped, eyes wide as she watched.

Evelyn chuckled and continued. “Eventually, the Captain agreed to let him live but _forced_ him to stay on the ship, as they had few crew members to begin with. So daddy became a cook!” The scene shifted from the room with the blue merman and his yellow friend, to the both on them floating side-by-side in the kitchen, yellow teaching blue how to cook. “A few days later, grandpa finally agreed that we should all be introduced,” The scene changed to four figures floating on the bridge--two grown men, a young girl, and a young man. “and as soon as I saw your daddy, I _knew_ he was the one. And a few months later,” The scene changed yet again, to the two young mers embracing as humans on the bridge of the ship at sunset. “I knew it was true.”

Jade let out a sound of awe, followed quickly by a yawn. “ _And…._ ” she blinked groggily, “and it still is?” 

Evelyn smiled. “ _Of course_ it is. You’re here, after all,” She brushed some hair from her daughter’s forehead, before kissing her gently on each of her cheeks. “Goodnight, my little Jade.” 

“...night, mommy…” The little girl managed before yawning and falling asleep. 

Satisfied that she was properly out, Evelyn left her daughter’s cave, erected a soundproof barrier and protection spell that would end when Jade awoke and swam towards the small area Michael had fashioned into a kitchen. 

“Hey, sweetie? Did you--” before she could finish her sentence, she let out a scream of agony and doubled over. 

Her tail began switching rapidly between that of a clownfish and human legs, before settling on the tail. Her skin glowed bright green, and Michael dropped the fish he was preparing in its air bubble and rushed to her side in worry. 

“ _Evelyn!_ ”

She could only whimper in pain, tears rushing down her cheeks and hands shaking as magical power flowed into her veins and a spell into her head. 

“ _To destroy us all is what you seek, But soon you’ll see your future’s bleak. Live under the waves as the creatures you loathe, Power split between you both. Once time goes as does a life, Then the power left shall be rife. Once both are lost beneath the waves, Nothing of your crew will be left to save._ ” She found herself whispering with the voice in her head. 

“Evie?” Michael asked, quieter this time, seeing as she had seemed to be better, although her skin was still glowing. He had a feeling he knew what happened.

“ _H-He’s d-dead…_ ” She managed to stutter out to the floor, sinking down and grasping the sea-grass growing from the rock. 

“...He’s... _dead?_ ” Michael’s eyes widened, and he felt numb. How could such a formidable man be dead so soon? They had just seen each other last month! What had happened. 

“I… I _can’t_ keep this power in, Michael. I _have_ to expend it.” Evelyn finally managed to say, voice sounding dead. 

“What? What do you mean?”

“My clock is ticking, and there’s nothing I can do about it now.” She stated. Then, “I have to go see the crew.” She looked up at her husband green eyes glowing and flowing with emotion and worry. 

“Well, we’re coming will you then.” He floated upright, and help out his hand for his wife to take, pulling her upright. 

“I can’t ask you to do that, Michael. And Jade--”

“Jade will be fine. And if you really don’t want her to remember, erase her memories as you’ve done to so many other people.” He reasoned, holding her hands gently in his own. 

“I can’t do that to my own _daughter!_ It’s...criminal!” She looked offended that he would even suggest it. 

“Then why have you never allowed her to meet the crew?” Evelyn looked down in shame, and Michael continued speaking. “Look, all I’m saying is that the crew should get to meet her, and let her have fun on a real pirate ship while you sort out the crew. You said it yourself, the clock is ticking and they deserve some happy memories too.”

She hesitated, before looking up at him with a small smile. “Alright. I’ll at least make sure she retains the feelings from that time.” 

“Of course. And if you decide, I will move wherever you need me to.”

Evelyn smiled gratefully. 

\-------- *Note: the definition of rife is as follows - __  
~(especially of something undesirable or harmful) of common occurrence; widespread. _  
_ ~in an unchecked or widespread manner.--------

“Woah! _This is so cool!_ ” Jade’s voice exclaimed as they boarded the ship the next day, sandwiched between her parents. “It’s a pirate ship! _Pirate ship!_ ” She laughed, giggling and looking around at everything. 

“ _Michael! Evelyn!_ ”

“ _Lad!_ You came!”

“They’re back!”

“Oh my _god_ , they have a _kid!_ ”

“Is that their daughter?”

“Holy _shit_ she’s so cute!” 

The crew was thrilled to see them, and Michael found himself being pulled away from his family and into the arms of Artie and Abraham. He ended up laughing and hugging them back happily.

“Guys! It’s so good to see you!”

“And you as well, my dear boy! I see you have a lovely daughter--but we already knew that.” Abraham replied, smirking and laughing went he was sent flying by Michael punching him in the arm. “Good one!” He called from the other side of the ship where he was hanging from the railing. David and Lucas came to his rescue shortly after, laughing at his expense. 

“How’s it been, ma boy?” Artie asked, glancing at Evie who was chatting with Edgar, Hugo, Zachary, and Chester; soon joined by Abraham, David, and Lucas. Jade, no longer hanging from her mother’s arm, was instead being swung between Hugo and David, little jets of water butting into her and making her laugh. William and Robert were hanging back though, smiles on their faces and looking exhausted.

“She… hasn’t said a word about it. She masked the glow from Jade, though. She thinks we’re on vacation.” He quirked a smile at his daughter, who was showing off the new spell she had learned; a simple element spell to control rocks and sand. 

Artie nodded solemnly. “It hasn’t been great ‘ere, either. Abraham doesn’t like bein’ in charge.”

“I wouldn’t imagine so. It has been almost 600 years of Johnathan as the authority, after all. I can’t blame him.” He shrugged. 

“Micheal! Arthur! Come join the rest of the crew, please.” Evelyn called, her voice going no-nonsense in a second. The two men quickly rushed over, and Evelyn cleared her throat and began speaking. 

“I know you are all aware of the curse, and what it means now that Johnathan is gone. The clock is ticking, and we…don’t have that much time left anymore. So, because of this, I have decided to disband the crew.” There were multiple gasps, but she put up her hand and they silenced. “Of course, you are all welcome to stay on this ship if you’d like, but I think after 600 years of living, you all deserve to live your last years however you wish.”

Jade looked up at her mother’s stern face in confusion as the crew broke out into protest. She had no idea what her mommy was talking about! Instead, she swam over to her dad and held out her arms to be picked up. Michael did as she asked. 

“Daddy? What’s going on?” She asked as they watched Evelyn calm the crew.

“Nothing important, my sweet little girl.” Michael kissed her nose, and she giggled. “Now how about you help daddy make lunch for everyone after we explore the ship?” 

“Yeah!” Jade cheered as Michael carried her into the belly of the ship, giving his wife a nod as he disappeared.

Evelyn sighed and turned back to the now-quieter crew of eight men. “ _Look_ , I know you feel like you have to stay together, but I’m giving you the chance to live your life however you choose! As a human, _or_ as a mer.” She emphasized, and a few men’s eyes widened. “Because of…” She looked at her glowing green hands and clenched her fists, returning them to her sides. “Because of the curse, I have to expend power constantly to extend my own life. It hurts so much, and turning any one of you human for as long as you wish helps _me_ , as well as _you_. So _please_ , think about it, okay? I’ve heard rumors of a new organization on the surface that helps creatures, and if you go to them, they can help you. You don’t have to decide now, but please try to soon. I have to be in the Bermuda Triangle in a week.” 

There was a collective ‘okay,’ and the crew went back to their duties, all but Abraham that is. 

“Why on _earth_ would you head to the siren capital? The city is surrounded by _cannibals!_ ”

Evelyn smiled calmly at him, placing her hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, Abe, we’ve been to Atlantis before when we explored the oceans. They have a way for me to give them most of my magic until it builds up again, so they can power the city.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I only need to go every few months, and we live close by anyway.” 

“It’s just, your father told me to protect you.” Abraham protested. “I don’t--I can’t disappoint him.” 

“He could _never_ be disappointed that you chose to spend the rest of your life happy.”

Abraham looked apprehensive but nodded his head anyway. “As long as you are confident…”

“I am.”

“Okay. Now, how about we surface this ship and get _absolutely_ shit-faced?” He asked, quirking a mischievous smile to hide his nerves.

Evelyn grinned. “Absolutely.”

\--------

“I want another kid, Michael,” Evelyn whispered as she watched the night sky, feet propped up on a barrel near the fire. 

After a long day of eating and drinking as humans, the crew was passed out among the deck, snoring loudly and sprawled uncomfortably wherever you walked. Michael was propped up against the main mast, Jade fast asleep in his lap after a long day of learning to walk and use human legs.

Michael blushed and muffled his screech when he saw Jade move in his lap. “ _W h a t?!_ ”

“I want another child.” 

“ _I heard you the first time!_ I mean _why?!_ You’re _basically_ \--you _can’t_ \--it would jeopardize your _health! _I can’t let you do that!” He protested, looking up at his wife, as she was sitting in a chair and he was on the deck.__

__“ _Don’t you think I know that?!_ ” She hissed. “ _Look,_ I want you to have a piece of me when I’m gone, and a _reason_ for you to keep living. I _know_ it’ll be hard on me, and that I might not make it out of this, but I’m doomed either way and _I’d like_ to have a life and a family before that day comes.” She said, sounding bitter. _ _

__Michael looked out over the water, barely registering the starry sky and the strip of white he now knew as the milky way. “...Alright.” He answered after a few minutes of hesitation. “After you get back from Atlantis, we can try.” A tear ran down his face, and he turned to smile sadly at his wife._ _

__“Thank you.” She smiled back at him, and they both sat in silence once again, falling asleep to the dying fire._ _

__The next morning, after docking in China and tearfully seeing off the crew of newly turned humans to a few officials from the new organization Evelyn found, the ship was brought out to the Mariana Trench and destroyed._ _

__From there, the family traveled east through the currents; across the Pacific ocean, and sneaking through the Panama Canal at night. Eventually, they made it back home in the Gulf of Mexico, and Evelyn left for the Bermuda Triangle, and New Atlantis._ _

__After fending off a few cannibals and ripping them to shreds with her new power, she approached the city wall, going up to the greeting window where a middle-aged siren with short swirling horns lounged as she read a book._ _

__“Hello. Evelyn Harley-Egbert?” She told the clerk._ _

__The clerk bookmarked her page, and sat up, glancing at her before going to a device and looking at something. If she noticed the blood covered hammer, the clerk said nothing. She nodded and pressed a button, and a door opened in the wall. “The royal guard will escort you to the palace. After a meeting with HIC, you’ll be escorted to the power plant.” The woman said, yellow eyes bored and uncaring._ _

__Evelyn nodded and went through the door with a quick ‘thanks’. The door slammed shut behind her, and she was met with an underwater New York City. Tall buildings made equally of coral, metal, and stone, shops along every street, advanced technology, and sirens of every age and shape were all she saw--the younger ones distinguishable from the fact their skin was not grey, they did not have horns, and their scleras were white._ _

__“Excuse me, Miss.” A man said, coughing to get her attention._ _

__Evelyn turned, and flushed, quickly getting into the open torpedo car, and being rushed off to the place. The ride wasn’t too long considering the distance to the palace, but it was still long enough for her to get nervous. She may have been powerful with her new powers, but they were nothing compared to the Queen of Sirens, who was a legend to have god-like abilities._ _

__Soon enough she was escorted up the stairs and through the palace, and into the throne room once again. On the far wall sat Her Imperial Condescension in a large and ornate throne, trident clutched in her hand loosely and a smirk on her face._ _

__To her right was a smaller throne, where the princess sat at attention, long blonde hair flowing gently in the water current, and golden jewelry glinting in the artificial sunlight._ _

__Evelyn approached the throne and bowed low. “Your Majesty, Princess Roxanne, I thank you for welcoming me into your home.”_ _

__“Rise, Evelyn. You need not bow to me, after all, you are powering the city for a few hundred years.” HIC said, voice commanding, yet kind, strangely enough._ _

__Evelyn rose, and HIC grinned. It was all sharp teeth, and very unsettling. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”_ _

__“My daughter shall escort you to the power plant and assist in the transfer.” HIC motioned to the princess with her trident, turning her head. “Roxanne?”_ _

__Roxanne rose from her own chair and bowed to her mother respectfully. “Yes, mother. Come with me, please.” She began swimming from the throne room, and HIC waved at them, before ordering the guard to inform the chef to bring her something to eat._ _

__The door closed behind them, and Roxanne’s shoulders slumped in relief._ _

__“Wow! Holy _shit!_ It is _sooooo_ stuffy in there!” She stretched her arms, and Evelyn was confused. _ _

__“Your Highness?”_ _

__“Call me Roxy! I _hate_ those stuffy royal bullshit names, even if it _is_ a tradition. Times are changin! Now come on! We’ll take a lil shortcut of mine.” With that, Roxy was pulling Evelyn around the castle at high speed. _ _

__She barely had time to react to anything she saw, including what appeared to be a room filled entirely with sirens having sex in front of a giant glass window into the hallway. Only when she was shoved into a dark door did she let out a yelp, and then a groan when she hit her head on a smooth surface._ _

__Roxy chuckled nervously and helped the mermaid back up. “Heh, _sorry_. Anyway! Sit down in that chair please, and insert your hands into the provided slots.” She continued, pointing to a chair near a large metal box, and multiple empty glass tubes. _ _

__There were a few scientists milling about the large room, working on varies technologies and experiments. They paid neither of them any mind and instead continued to work._ _

__Roxy sawm over to a nearby control panel, and flipped a few switches, and began typing on a keyboard, looking up at a nearly transparent screen. “Do you have any questions about this or any future procedures?”_ _

__“Will um…” She hesitated, cheeks flushing momentarily. “Will this affect pregnancy in any way? My husband and I plan to have another child.”_ _

__Roxy smiled and giggled like a teenager. “ _Nah_. If anything, it heightens the senses for a bit cuz you won’t have so much concentrated on keeping your magic at bay. It’ll feel... _really good._ ” She winked, and Evelyn coughed in embarrassment. “Anyway! This should take a while, and after this session, you’ll have to stay the night before we have another, and let you head home. Alright?”_ _

__“That’s fine. Thank you so much, Your High--I mean, Roxy.”_ _

__Roxy grinned, her teeth very normal, not sharp at all. “You’re welcome!” She typed for a second, before pausing. “By the way, why do you have a giant hammer covered in blood?”_ _

__“Cannibals.”_ _

__Roxy nodded in understanding. “Ah. Nasty creatures. We really need to do something about ‘em.”_ _

__\--------_ _

__Almost a year later, and four sessions in New Atlantis later, Michael returned to their cave-home with a midwife, to help his wife with the delivery of their second child._ _

__Jade had been absolutely thrilled the moment she found out she was getting a little brother or sister and was constantly asking questions and talking about things she wanted to teach them._ _

__Meanwhile, Michael watched in sad acceptance as Evelyn, the love of his life, slowly seemed to fade before his eyes. Jade never seemed to notice, too excited about the pregnancy to even care at the time. So it was hard when the midwife came out of their room with a solemn expression, and the promise to watch Jade for a bit._ _

__“Evie?” Michael called out, floating in the entryway of their room._ _

__Evelyn looked tiredly up from their bed of kelp, and smiled, before looking down at the little bundle in her arms. “It’s a _boy,_ Michael. He has your eyes.” _ _

__Michael gave her a sad, soft smile, and swam to the side of their bed, sitting down beside his wife’s side to glimpse at his son. “He’s _beautifu_ l. He has your tail and your hair.” He grinned when he saw him, gently running a finger across the little boy’s cheek, eyes following his father curiously._ _

__“What should we name him?”_ _

__“ _Johnathan_. After your father.” _ _

__Evelyn couldn’t even find it in her to protest. “He’d love it.”_ _

__“He’d love him. And be proud of you.” Michael whispered, resting his face on the top of her head to hide his tears. “I don’t know how I can do this without you.”_ _

__“You’ll find a way. You’ve always found a way. You found your way to me, after all.”_ _

__“But that was fate at work, I had nothing to do with that.”_ _

__“Fate doesn’t control us. We make our own destiny. I’ve seen future outcomes that you’ve changed and made better. This power, the curse, it found every possible way to torture me. But you, you _saved_ me! _Every single time._ Even now, you’re giving me the strength to speak when my body fails me.”_ _

__“But my strength has _never_ been real. It’s been magic and only one type of magic. I could never do _anything else_.” He removed his head from hers to look at her and reached for her hand. It was already so cold. _ _

__“Strength…” She began, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “Strength doesn’t _come_ from a spell. It comes from how you act, and how you treat others--it’s what’s….. _inside_. And…... you’ve had that….. all along…..” She began trailing off, eyes drooping. _ _

__Michael tensed, and squeezed her hand. “I know I just said I suck at magic, but I practiced, and I w-wrote you a spell. It’s supp-pposed to help you watch o--ver us.” He managed to get out, tears beginning to fall._ _

__Evelyn slowly turned her head, a tired smile on her face. “....r….eally? Can I…..hear it?” her voice was small and fading, but she still spoke._ _

__Michael nodded his head and took a deep breath to keep himself from crying. As he began to sing, a blue magical mist appeared and overtook Evelyn's body. “ _If sink or swim, And I'm going down; I swore it as I'm starting to drown. Without you I've got no place to go, So just bury me beside you. Can't think about the way that it hurts, When every single word that you spoke, Meant more to me than you'll ever know. Than you'll ever know._ ” The lyrics were in no way connected to its purpose, but it meant so much more than that._ _

__Evelyn smiled, tears falling from her face. “I…..love you….Mich…..ael…….and I al…..ways….will….” Her voice faded out, and as her eyes closed, she heard her husband respond._ _

__“ _I love you, too, Evie._ ” _ _

__When she opened her eyes again, she saw the faces of her mother and father smiling at her, and the confused crew milling behind them._ _

__She was _free_._ _


End file.
